Contemporary Performance Reviews for 1967-1972 Pickups

[Ellensbrother]

Asking about publications from the era 1967-1972 that reviewed the performance of our era Chevy/GMC Pickups. This was pretty common for cars, and found a review for a 1971 Blazer, but asking for anyone's recollection or artifacts where a Pickup was reviewed using a 'road test' like the ones that several mags did back in the day, Road & Track, Car & Driver, Car Life, and so on. This would include acceleration tests, braking tests, and other road test results and comparisons. Thanks for the discussion.

[weq92f]

.

I know why you want this and so do I after reading the Corvette review. Cool stuff right there.

From the article:

"Over smooth roads the big 2-seater rides fairly well, though the lack of suspension travel decrees the use of shocks with too much damping in the up direction and too little in the down; the result is considerable harshness over sharp bumps but a distinct "floatiness" over gentle undulations at speed. On bad roads the Corvette simply loses its cool, rattling, shaking and squeaking in a scandalous manner."

"The stereo FM radio is a magnificent thing for motoring entertainment; so would be the tape deck Steves installed if the selection of tapes one can buy were better. As for the Cruise Control, well, it's a sort of perverted pleasure to turn it on and feel it take over, but for our tastes it simply encourages the kind of asleep-at-the-wheel style of American driving we don't like and thus we don't like it."

There's a distinct lack of discussion regarding things like smartphone integration, the vehicle's WiFi hot spot, autopilot, self park, auto stop/start, user interface, too few real buttons, head up display and keyless entry.

-Kevin

[cj847]

The thing that kills me about those old articles:

1970 454 big block Vette ---1/4 mi in 15 sec @ 93mph. It really seemed faster back then....lol.

[Sicklajoie]

Here's an interesting 1970 Consumer Reports comparison test on pickups with slide-in campers.
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=708143

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by cj847

The thing that kills me about those old articles:

1970 454 big block Vette ---1/4 mi in 15 sec @ 93mph. It really seemed faster back then....lol.

A little tuning would go a long way. I had a '66 Le Mans that turned low 13s with a 400 CI engine (out of a '68 GTO). Modifications were a 600 CFM dual feed Holley instead of a Q-Jet (not an improvement, afaiac, but it was an AFB manifold) , a Sig Erson cam and headers. It had a THM400 and 3.55 gears. I don't know what that Corvette would have had for a compression ratio, but my engine was listed as 13.5:1 and you can believe that one had better buy gas at the right station. It even idled smoother with a can of Moroso octane booster in the tank. I'm not sure that those Corvette numbers are even true, tbh.

I watched a video on youtube where a guy drove a '63 Corvette around some track. He also drove a Camry around the same track and made way better time. Of course, he was pitching the Corvette sideways out of every corner. Maybe he was a shill for Toyota? Idunno.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by cj847

The thing that kills me about those old articles:

1970 454 big block Vette ---1/4 mi in 15 sec @ 93mph. It really seemed faster back then....lol.

Street tires and highway gears. were a lot of it. That and in those days the clocks on a lot of drag strips weren't always that accurate. I used to run 14.25 pretty consistant at Little River in Texas in 1969 and racing at a strip by Austin one night I only was able to go in the mid 15's. Car felt the same and pulled the same.

Once in a while you would see a truck test in motor Trend back in that time frame and maybe Car and Driver if it was somewhat of a performance truck.

[D.B]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Street tires and highway gears. were a lot of it. That and in those days the clocks on a lot of drag strips weren't always that accurate. I used to run 14.25 pretty consistant at Little River in Texas in 1969 and racing at a strip by Austin one night I only was able to go in the mid 15's. Car felt the same and pulled the same.

Once in a while you would see a truck test in motor Trend back in that time frame and maybe Car and Driver if it was somewhat of a performance truck.

Hi mr48chev, speaking of Little River. Its still there and there is a lot of racing done at that track. I race in a bracket club and we will be there in Oct. We have two bracket race events there each year.

[Ellensbrother]

Answering my own query with initial results: Contemporary magazine articles featuring Chevrolet/GMC pickups from 1960-1972 include (so far):

• Popular Science, June 1965 "Suddenly Pickups are IN"
• Motor Trend, May 1969 "The Longhorn/Chevy's Hot New Pickup"
• Consumer Reports, June 1970 "Pickup Trucks for Use with Campers"

Two more questions for others:

1) Is there a way on the forum to share pdf documents of these articles? These articles range in size from 6-18 Megabytes and it seems important to be able to make them available to others...

2) Any more articles out there?

[factorystock]

Mechanix Illustrated, February 1970, "Tom McCahill reports on light trucks" Trailer Life, April 1967 Big 6 or V8

[Steeveedee]

Funny story about Tom McCahill. Many years ago I was reading his column, and a reader asked him if he knew where the term "Mile a Minute" came from. He reported back that, after looking through the literature, it was HIM. #SmallWorld

[Ellensbrother]

Originally Posted by factorystock

Mechanix Illustrated, February 1970, "Tom McCahill reports on light trucks" Trailer Life, April 1967 Big 6 or V8

factorystock, Thank you for those contributions. Was able to find the Mechanix Illustrated issue at a nearby Library. Any chance you can share some photos of the article from Trailer Life, April 1967? Thank you.

[Ellensbrother]

Since the first posting in this thread, below is the list so far of relevant articles...Seeking contemporary articles that featured road tests and/or reported on the real-world performance of 1967-1972 Chevrolet and GMC pickups…

Some of the motivations for this project: Seeking answers to these and other questions…

• Acceleration: What are the best 0-60 mph and standing quarter-mile times / speeds recorded by independent parties when the trucks were brand new (not modified, and admittedly untuned)?
• Braking: What is the improvement in stopping distance (60-0 mph) between the factory stock trucks with 4-wheel drum brakes, and the ones with front discs and rear drums?
• Experts’ comments: What did the contemporary industry experts say about these Chevy and GMC trucks when they were new, and how did they regard comparisons with their competitive cohorts, i.e., Ford, Dodge, International, and Jeep?
• What insights, wisdom, or trivia are still relevant today? Alternatively, what statements made 50+ years ago in these articles have crumbled under hindsight?
• What became of “Mechanix Illustrated,” who was Tom McCahill, what was Mimi’s role, and Are any of McCahill's ‘pixies’ members of this forum?
• …And some readers may find entertainment value in reading or re-reading these articles, as suggested by prior posts in the thread…

How to read the table bellow, showing the relevant articles:

Each row shows information about a specific vehicle: Model year, brand (Chevrolet / GMC) and model (C10, C20, C1500, etc.) mentioned as well as the article in which it was mentioned.

The ‘Green’ columns pertain to the specific vehicle mentioned in the article. Some of the articles had both Chevrolet & GMC vehicles.

The ‘Yellow’ columns indicate how extensive the article was in terms of the information it provides:
(1) 'Vehicle Specifications' include parameters such as Engine Size, Axle ratio, Wheelbase, and Weight, all of which are provided by the Manufacturer
(2) 'Quantitative Performance Results' include test results such as acceleration times/speeds, e.g., 0-60 or quarter-mile, braking stop distances, and real-world fuel economy
(3) 'Compares other Vehicles' indicates if the article evaluated more than one vehicle in same article or issue

For the record, the main objective of this project, at its onset, is to identify and share contemporary articles that address Question #2 'Quantitative Performance Results.’

The ‘Blue’ columns show the publication title, month, year, and page number. Of course, a 1970 model year vehicle could be covered in a 1969 calendar year publication.

The ‘Index’ column is used as part of sharing the full articles, in pdf format, with forum members. Match the ‘Index’ letter with the article you’d like to access, and then click on the link for that article in the area below the table, where the index letter and article appear again.

We are still looking for additional, relevant articles to add to the collection, so please shout if you know of any.

[Ellensbrother]

Here is an attempt to share links to the actual articles...

A. Car Life, Aug 1963 'Pickups-Versatile...Chevy C10 Fleetside'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...C1vmw?e=XHd8eV

B. Popular Science, June 1965 'Suddenly, Pickups'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...iv1vA?e=2pMkCG

C. Motor Trend, April 1969 'Chevy Heads for the Hills'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...Cz9Fg?e=rck7Ue

D. Motor Trend, May 1969 'Chevy Longhorn'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...IkVZw?e=vT4g0s

E. Popular Science, June 1969 'Classy New Pickups'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...MMs7g?e=NMznzF

F. Car Life, June 1969 'Two for the Boonies'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...hMA-w?e=zor0v6

G. Road Test, Sep 1969 'K5 Blazer 1970'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...To9ug?e=tuNej0

H. Mechanix Illust., Feb 1970 'Reports on Light Trucks'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...loHcA?e=1nQqZy

I. Consumer Reports, Aug 1970 'Pickup Campers'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...EqjjA?e=lqzPxs

J. Mechanix Illustrated, Dec 1970, 'What's New in 1971 Pickups'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...T6Xnw?e=l02FbQ

K. Motor Trend, May 1971 'RV Binge-Blazer, Bronco, Jeepster'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...ja0VA?e=LDf72m

L. Popular Science, Aug 1971 'V8 4WD-Blazer, Bronco, Scout II, Wagoneer'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...tcc3g?e=m0yJHY

M. Motor Trend, Feb 1972 'Bronco vs. Blazer'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...hROxw?e=nur6qf

N. Motor Trend, March 1972 'New Way to Go...C10 & C1500'.pdf
https://1drv.ms/b/c/c011ee334170ae20...fMEyg?e=y7l3GY

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by cj847

The thing that kills me about those old articles:

1970 454 big block Vette ---1/4 mi in 15 sec @ 93mph. It really seemed faster back then....lol.

Revisiting this thread, I find this information hard to believe. I had a '69 Camaro that turned in the 15s. But it was just a 327. It had a tall axle and I got it to ~140 on a long straightaway in the Texas panhandle. Whomever drove that Corvette likely smoked the tires BAD off the line. MHO

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Revisiting this thread, I find this information hard to believe. I had a '69 Camaro that turned in the 15s. But it was just a 327. It had a tall axle and I got it to ~140 on a long straightaway in the Texas panhandle. Whomever drove that Corvette likely smoked the tires BAD off the line. MHO

Yeah ain't no way in hell that's an accurate time. I had a 71 Olds Cutlass with a 350 & 2.56 gears. It would run 16 seconds flat. Heck the gearing was so tall that i just shifted into 3rd going through the lights.

[HeavyHauler]

It says that Corvette came from California. But did they run the test in Colorado or some other high altitude place like that? I also find it hard to believe that particular model Corvette
weighed over 2 tons. Also that Corvette only had 3.08 gears and terrible tires. Maybe the driver just wasnt up to the task of blasting it down the 1/4 mile on that day.

There are alot of factors to consider for sure.

Anyways I am also interested in performance numbers from back in the day. I own a 1968 Chevy C10, Shortbed, fleetside with factory 396 and 400 turbo and is black with red interior. I always
wonder how these trucks performed back in the day.

[Steeveedee]

^ It's a brick at high speed but should turn a decent ET with all that torque. I had a '66 Le Mans with a 400/400/3.23 that turned mid-13s. It had 11.5:1 compression, though. If you have a cell phone, you can run a measured 1/4 mile and get the ET and speed.